– says little hope for regular Guyanese battling to survive during COVID-19 pandemic
At a time when Guyanese are struggling to cope with the socio-economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has provided the nation with a pro-private sector budget, leaving the masses out in the cold.
This is according to A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament, Roysdale Forde, S.C, who in his maiden address to the National Assembly on Friday, said the $330B Emergency Budget leaves little hope for ordinary citizens.
“Mr. Speaker, the APNU+ AFC is pro people. We are not anti-private sector, we are pro- people. But when we look at the range of measures that have been announced by the government we find that they are overwhelmingly skewed in favour of the Private Sector, overwhelmingly beneficial to the Private Sector. The measures fall short of providing relief to support the people of this country,” Forde said as the National Budget Debate came to a close on Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
Forde said while the APNU+AFC Coalition is not “anti-private sector,” it believes, as the Holy Bible says, there is a time for everything. This, he said, is not the time for a Private Sector Budget but rather a time to ensure that Guyanese, regardless of their socio-economic status or geographical location, have equal access to education and health services. He said now is the time for a meaningful and measured response to the crisis that people in Guyana need and require.
“Mr. Speaker, the Government states that this is an Emergency Budget for Covid-19 to cater to the threat that Covid poses to this country. Mr. Speaker, there is no emergency measure to ensure that the people of the country are capable of accessing education and health services,” he told the House.
The Senior Counsel submitted that while Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand has indicated that the Government has taken a multi-faceted approach to educate the nation’s children, in the absence of face-to-face learning – many are at a disadvantage. The blended education programme initiated by the Education Ministry this week includes the use of printed materials, radio, television and a range of online platforms but many children, especially those in far flung communities have no access to internet and or technological devices such as laptops and tablets. In some cases, children have little or no access to electricity. It was noted too that out of love and commitment for their charges, many teachers are using their own resources (phones and data) to guide their students.
“Mr. Speaker, rather than reducing the VAT on data, rather than providing the laptops for use by the children, rather than providing real support to the working people, the working poor, the sick, the aged, the pensioners; the Government implements a 50% reduction in Licence Fees when fees were not increased for over 20 years, until they were increased in 2015, effectively taking those Licence Fees back to the 1992 level rates. This, is the Government’s response to Covid. This, is their response to the Emergency. This, is the response to the Covid Crisis. This, is totally abominable!” Forde told the House.
He said even as COVID-19 cases spiral out of control, resulting in an increasing number of deaths, the budget creates the largest budget deficit of over $75 billion while giving tax concessions for all terrain vehicles for Mining, Forestry, Agriculture and Manufacturing. “Mr. Speaker, the Budget is so Private Sector skewed that it purports to even remove Export Taxes, when in fact there are no Export Taxes. Mr. Speaker, the Budget is Private Sector skewed because in the face of death and the pain and suffering of the ordinary Guyanese people in the hinterland, in the North West District, on the Corentyne Coast and in Georgetown, it removes VAT on fertilizers, chemicals, pesticides and other inputs in the poultry sector,” Forde told his colleagues on both sides of the House. Forde believes that the PPP/C Administration has failed to grapple with the socio-economic inequalities that exist, and which will worsen with the substantial increase in growth projected for this year.
“The PPP/C has chosen to cuddle the private sector rather than to ensure that the poor people of this country benefit from the expanding economy. They have chosen to abandon the poor people of Guyana. APNU+AFC will forever stand by the vulnerable, poor and underprivileged people of Guyana,” the APNU+AFC said as he repeatedly described the PPP/C Administration as illegitimate and fraudulent.
Forde told the House that what the PPP/C Administration proposes to give the working class are “crumbs.” “No increase in salaries for the soldiers; no increase in salaries for the police; no increase in salaries for the public servants; no increase in salaries for the nurses; and no increase in salaries for the teachers. It provides no support for single parents and low skilled labour. It fails the sugar workers, the fishermen, small farmers and small business owners by not being sensitive to their challenges to access and participate in the new and emerging economy created by the APNU+AFC,” he posited while dismissing the $25,000 per family as a COVID-19 assistance as frivolous. Instead of increasing the salaries of public services, the PPP/C Administration has opted to offer the Joint Services a two weeks tax-free bonus. It has also set aside $150M for frontline workers in the public healthcare system.
